The 2020 Tokyo Olympics continues to be held in full flow. However, surprises and upsets continue to be a part of it. In the same light, we take a look at the major upsets in the competition so far.
The Olympics is the grandest sporting stage in the world to display one's sporting efficiency. The Tokyo Olympics 2020 is the same, as it is giving the athletes the best possible platform to showcase their splendid talent across sporting verticles.
Consequently, there happen to be several upsets as surprise new contenders emerge. Therefore, we take a look at some of the disruptions that have been caused in the competition so far.
Ashleigh Barty
The world number one female tennis star from Australia, Barty was one of the favourites to qualify for the gold medal match. While she was indeed a medal favourite, she suffered a shocking first-round exit to Sara Sorribes of Spain, losing in straight sets 6-4, 6-3. Not sure if the Australian was complacent regarding her gameplay, but nothing can be taken away from the Spaniard, who produced a sublime display of tennis skills to outplay the world number one.
France shocks the USA in basketball
When it comes to basketball, people reckon the National Basketball Association, which is the biggest basketball competition in the world. On top of it, it is based in the United States of America, making the country the basketball leader. However, the nation failed to justify its tag in its opening game in Tokyo, going down to France 83-76. Although the USA still has a chance to bounce back in its following couple of group games, against Iran and the Czech Republic, the loss against France would not go down well with the team, as it was its first loss since the 2004 Athens Olympics.
Daiya Seto
An upset came from the swimming section as reigning world champion Daiya Seto of Japan failed to qualify in the final round of the 400m individual medley. Missing the qualification mark by 0.39, he finished fifth in his heat, while he was placed ninth in the overall heat rankings. Seto happens to be the world champion in both 400m and 200m.
Manika Batra
India's top table tennis player Manika Batra was ousted in the third round. She failed to enter into the contention for a medal, despite being one of the top favourites to win a medal, losing embarrassingly to Austria's Sofia Polcanova 0-4. Furthermore, the Table Tennis Federation of India is mulling action against her for not having national coach Soumyadeep Roy by her side during her matches, which could have played a vital role.
Japan topples China
In another TT upset, Japan has overpowered China in one of the sectors. While China is famous for dominating the sport for ages, Japan toppled it this time, claiming the gold in the mixed doubles. The pair of Jun Mizutani and Mima Ito defeated the nearly unbeatable duo of Xu Xin and Liu Shiwen.
Naomi Osaka
In yet another tennis upset, Japan's Naomi Osaka was ousted in her Round 3 match against Marketa Vondroušová of the Czech Republic in straight sets 6-1, 6-4. The reigning world number two was an absolute favourite for a medal. However, she seemed tremendously off-colour against Vondroušová, getting broken thrice in the opening set.
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